Tales of a Barman
by Icis of Avalon
Summary: Xander has opened his own bar, club by the name of 'Nights', anyway he's the barman there and 'collects' stories off his customers, multiple crossings allowed. dig in people.  This is a new start on Methos' original story found on TtH
1. Chapter 1

Disclamer: I own nothing, not even the following stories, nor the idea for the stories. Those props belong to Methos of TtH.

Welcome all, to my first attempt at fanfiction, and I must say that I probably won't even do any writing myself. I do love to read a good story though, and wished to share this novel idea I found while digging up new ones. There is a site I found called Twisting the Hellmouth (www _dot _tthfanfic _dot_ org) and an author within this sight that calls himself Methos. This sight is a collection of cross-over stories, most crossed with Buffy and/or Angel. While it is easier for a compilation of stories to be gathered on TtH, it is still possible for that to happen here at . (Instructions at end of Methos' intro. story.)

This being said; I would like to invite you all to join us for an exciting evening at Nights.

Icis of Avalon

**Introductions to the bar...**

TITLE: Tales of a Barman  
AUTHOR: Methos (Methosivanhoe hotmail _dot _co _dot _uk)  
DISTRIBUTION: If ya want to host it somewhere else just tell me where ya putting it ok? ;)  
DISCLAIMER: Ok, Xander belongs to Joss Whedon. Highlander Belongs To Panzer and Gregory Widen.  
RATING: FR18

AN: Thank you to KCL for introducing me to a set of books Called Callahans Bar, after doing a bit of research on these books, I've got to say that was exactly what I'm after. Maybe not having Xander go on adventures with his customers through space and time, but a bar where anyone can walk in and unload their troubles on the ever friendly barman.

Now I'm just waiting for the next customer, who's it going to be people?

Wolverine? Blade? Harry Potter? General Hammond come to talk about his problems with SG-1, or perhaps O'Neil come to talk about his feeling for Carter, Indiana Jones? Lara Croft? Servarus Snape? Molly Weasley?

Anyone is welcome to Xanders bar, Nights is officially open for business... who's next?

M

Looking around the bar Xander smiled, this was his bar. Not him working for someone else, not helping the slayers. Last year when they had closed the Hellmouth, and defeated the first, he'd decided to set up his own bar.

Just a small bar, on the outskirts of Cleveland, but it was his. He looked around the bar, taking in the patrons who were drinking happily at their tables. He looked up as the door opened.

"Giles, how you doing?" Xander said, leaning on the bar and pouring a pint of Guinness for him. It was his usual drink; setting up the new watchers council had been hard on him. Having this little 'sanctuary' away from the slayer's and trainee watchers had helped a lot.

"Good, thank you." Giles smiled over the bar at him, passing over the money for the pint. "It seems your little bar has become quite the business."

"Yeah, 'Nights' is quite popular nowadays. Seems everyone wants to come in here, see if they can see 'The Slayer' or 'The Witch'." He nodded to the wall behind him where pictures of Willow, Buffy, Giles, Faith and the rest of the gang were hung, autographed and all.

Giles grinned at the pictures, somehow he'd never thought the idea would pick off, but here it was, a successful business in its own right.

"I'll never know how you managed to get some of those pictures though." He pointed to each picture in turn, Buffy as a cheerleader, Faith shaking hands with the mayor, Willow kissing Kennedy, Me during my 'rocky horror' stage. "My god man, some of these pictures must be twenty or thirty years old."

"Yeah, they give me a laugh sometimes. Other times it's just nice to look back, remember the good old days." Xander laughed, he enjoyed spending time talking to Giles now. Catching up on what was happening with the slayer's and the new watcher's. "Excuse me." Xander nodded over to where a new customer had just walked in and was waiting at the bar, his eyes flicking over the selection of beers.

"What can I get you?" Xander smiled over at the man.

"What beer's you got? I don't want any of the lager crap, proper beers." The customer looked around, smiling when he say the autographed pictures on the wall.

"Sure thing, we got Black Sheep, Spitfire and Pedigree... quite a selection on handpull, or you after bottled?" Xander grinned at the shocked expression on the customers face. "Yeah, we get a lot of people in here asking for the British beers. I decided to stock a good selection, keeps the customers happy."

"Uh, Spitfire please, pint." The man spluttered out.

"Sure thing." Xander went over and pulled the pint, letting it settle before placing in on the bar.

"Cheers, Nice place you've got here, good ambiance." He smiled pulling over a stool to the bar and lounging on it, throwing his coat carefully on the back of the stool.

"Only been open a few months, Xander." He smiled holding out his hand.

"Adam, Adam Pierson." He smiled and shook the offered hand. "Only a few months, seems to have amassed quite a collection of regulars in that time."

"Yeah, I get a lot of business from the specialist girl's school on the other side of town. A few friends of mine work there, so it's nice having somewhere like this to come and unwind." Xander said, taking the bar cloth from his pocket and wiping the bar down.

"Understand that, been a while since I had somewhere to call home. Been over near Washington for the past few years, but there was some trouble there recently. Figured I'd better make myself scarce and get out of the limelight." Adam grinned, taking a swig of his beer.

"Trouble? You ok? Need help with anything?" Xander looked across; the man didn't seem like the trouble type. He was tall, not muscled, though with the baggy sweater he was wearing he couldn't really tell. He just looked like an average Joe. That was when Xander looked down and saw the hilt of the sword sticking out from the jacket.

"Nothing I can't handle." Adam grinned up at him.

"I'm sure of that, older than you look and all that?" Xander grinned at the look of surprise that shot across the immortals face.

"I don't know what you mean... I mean..." He stuttered out causing Xander to let loose a bark of laughter. "Sermo exsisto silens." Xander said with a grin.

"Conversation be silent?" Adam looked about.

"Yeah, something I was taught a while back helps to have private conversations when no one can hear anything. Anyway, don't have to worry about that. We've had our share of immortals come through here in the past, none stuck around though. See those?" Xander grinned, nodding up to the pictures behind him. "That's The Slayer, The Witch, the other slayer and the head of the Watcher's Council, though you wouldn't recognize him not out of costume."

Adam was dumbfounded, he just wanted a quiet drink and had run into the bar where The Slayer and The Watcher's drank, just his bloody luck. "And you don't care that I'm immortal?"

"Nope, all I'm interested in is a good conversation and you enjoying your beer." Xander smiled, watching Adam for any sign of hostility. To his satisfaction, Adam just slumped back in his seat more, smiled and took another mouthful of beer.

"So, you just want to chat about interesting things while I have a beer?" Adam thought this over in his head, seemed like a good business proposal. Most people wanted someone to talk to, but didn't want everyone to hear about they're business. This was they could be sure that only the person listening would be able to hear they're story, and it would stay in this bar.

"That about sums it up." Xander grinned as he poured himself a coke off tap.

"Well, I've got one for you then. See a couple of months ago there was this fight down in New York, two immortals. You know about us right?" he waited for the nod before continuing. "Well, this one guy, Jacob Kell. He came after a friend of mine; he'd been going after this one guy for centuries. Killing off his friends, lovers anyone he knew. Anyway..." Adam paused, taking another mouthful of beer. "He finally came to New York and challenged my friend's kinsman, another friend of mine called Duncan Macleod."

"No shit, you know the Highlander?" Xander nearly sprayed his coke over the bar at that revelation.

"Yeah, both of them, anyway... Conner... that's the other Highlander, had been hidden away in sanctuary for years now, when Kell found him he was in no fit shape to fight. He could barely hold his own against a newbie, let alone someone of Kell's caliber. So he came to a solution in his mind, he knew he wasn't strong enough to face Kell, and he knew Duncan wasn't strong enough on his own to beat Kell. The only way to do it was to face him together."

"Hold on, I thought the rules said only one of you can face another. That was one of the rules, along with no fighting on holy ground, isn't that right?" Xander asked, downing his coke and pouring himself another.

"Yeah, you'll have to tell me sometime where you get your information kid, bit too accurate for my tastes. Anyway, Conner found a way around this. See when one of us dies the victor takes his enemies head, this is called The Quickening. Now, a Quickening is everything we are, out strength, knowledge, power... everything. What you give up in defeat is everything, a friend once told me that." Raising his pint he gave a short nod, and muttered 'Ramirez'.

"Go on." Xander said, leaning on the bar, this was the best tale he'd heard in a while.

"Well, Conner challenged his kinsman, Duncan. Knowing that he would lose and Duncan would then have his quickening and be powerful enough to defeat Kell. They fought and Conner forced Duncan's hand, forcing him to kill his own brother, after that he went after Kell and beat him too, and that's why I ended up here." Adam grinned, downing the remainder of his pint.

"Sorry, I don't understand. He beat Kell, but you said you were running from trouble." Xander said, nodding to the empty glass and smiling.

"Sure, thanks." Adam smiled as Xander refilled his pint and took the money. "It's not Duncan, or Kell, I'm running from. It's the head hunters that are after him now, it's worse that when they were after me." Chuckling to himself, Adam drained half the pint in one go.

"Ahh, gotcha... and who are you to be precise? Don't worry I know how to keep a secret." Xander grinned as he saw the glint in Adam's eye.

"You got a marker behind there?" Adam asked draining the rest of the pint.

"Sure, chalk or permanent?" Xander asked holding up one of either.

"Permanent, here..." Adam grinned, pulling out his sword, scribbling something on the blade before laying it on the bar. "Something to go with the trophy collection kid, keep up the new beers, I'll definitely be back this way someday." With that he pulled his jacket back on and walked out the door.

Smiling to himself, Xander retrieved the marker from the bar, placed the empty glass in the tray under the bar and picked up the sword.

"Silentium Absum" he muttered to the air, ending the spell.

"What's that Xander? Ivanhoe if I'm not mistaken." Giles asked, watching as Xander walked down the bar.

"Maybe Giles, Maybe. Guy gave it to me, said it was something to add to my trophy collection. He scribbled something on the sword, can't make it out though." Xander was looking at the sword, turning it around and trying to catch the light on it so he could make out the writing.

"Here, let me have a look." Giles smiled, taking the sword and examining the writing before a look of shock came over his face. "Methos!"

"Methos? Who's he? Giles?" Xander shouted after him as he ran out the door. "Giles, who is he?" he asked as Giles walked back in the door.

"Methos is the oldest living immortal, rumored to be over five thousand years old. No one knows what he looks like or who he is. What did he tell you? I saw you two talking for quite a while." Giles said, sitting back down and nodding to his empty pint glass.

"Told a good story, about Highlander's, immortals, quickening's and death. Didn't really have a moral, an undefeatable foe and good prevailing in the end."

"Dear lord, he talked about the highlander?"

"Both of them." Xander grinned as he passed over the Guinness and rang the money through the till.

"Bloody hell, you do meet the strangest people." Giles grinned, handing the sword back to Xander. A piece for the wall definitely, how many other people can say they had a sword used by Methos himself.

"Yeah, I'll get a proper mount for this tomorrow." Xander said, laying the sword down on the back bar. "Now let me tell you about this guy that came in here the other week, Zack Morris he said his name was. God that guy could talk for England; see it started off back in ninety-one at Bayside High..."

AN: ok, you get the gist of it. Add a chapter, any crossing you want...

Xander is the barman who likes to listen to stories from the customers...  
If anyone wants to take over the story of Zack and Kelly (Fandom Saved by the Bell) You're more than welcome to.  
Come on, don't be shy. Anything goes ok? I'm sure you can think of a reason to get Dean Winchester, or Servarus Snape into a bar.

Let the fanfic commence :)

M

**How you can add to the story.**

- Contact me to make a "connection" using DocX on your account page so that we can exchange documents.

- Send me your story and I will post it with the others. If you would like me to beta it first, I can do so as long as I don't get too many at once. I am and American college student, so if you write using British English, you have been forewarned; though I have no problem posting your story in that style.

-Please read previous stories, keeping in mind that I would like them to somewhat flow together.

- Keep the rating K-T and no out of cannon slash please.

-Last of all, please include your pen name, story title, and disclaimer at the beginning of your story.

Once again, welcome to Nights.

Icis of Avalon


	2. One Cloudy Afternoon

Title: One Cloudy Afternoon

Author: Icis of Avalon

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, or the general plot idea, that belongs to Methos of TtH.

It was rather cloudy when Xander opened his bar that afternoon. The evening promised to bring rain and perhaps a little thunder.

As he began pulling the chairs off the tables, readying them for his earlier customers, he heard the door open. In walked a woman of average height with short, wild, bronze hair and caramel colored skin. She walked with the lithe movements reminiscent of his slayers. She glanced nervously out the door just as the rain began to fall and gave a faint shudder before walking towards the bar.

"Name's Xander. Welcome to Nights, what can I get for ya this afternoon?" he walking around to the other side of the bar, trying not to drool over the woman in front of him.

"Patience Phillips. Just wanting to come in out of the rain for a while, but I'll take a late with extra cream if possible," giving another shudder at the mention of rain.

"Sure thing. One late, coming right up." After a brief pause he starts up the espresso machine and asks, "So what brings you round to this part of town? Haven't seen you around before, but then I guess we've only been open for a few months now."

"Well, just passing through town really. Quit my dead end job after some unfortunate occurrences. Decided to travel for a bit after the whole scandal, might stick around for a while if Cleveland offers some good night life."

With a chuckle Xander replies, "Oh, the night around here is very much alive, but I wouldn't recommend going out in it. Though you are always welcome here, it can get very interesting after dark."

Accepting the offered coffee Patience hands him some cash. She takes a sip of the steaming drink and lets out a contented sigh. "Thanks for the advice, but I'm sure I can take care of myself," she replies with a bit of a smile.

"So who's up on the wall there? Quite an eclectic group you have there."

"Oh those are friends of mine. They run a private school here in Cleveland." Xander replied with a bit of nostalgia. "The Ivanhoe is from one of my unique customers, he left it after telling me a great story."

"Really? If you like stories I have one you might enjoy. It's a story about the unremarkable life of an unremarkable woman and how she comes into her own."

With a nod from the barman she begins her story, " It all started the day that she died…"

After nearly two hours and three coffees, her story wound down to a close. "Well I see that the rain has finally let up, so I guess I should be going. It was great talking to you Xander, perhaps I'll stop in again someday."

She stood up and walked out the door without a backward glance, leaving Xander with a contemplating look on his face. Before he had a chance to really think over the story his attention was diverted by the other customers who had trickled in during the young woman's story. With a bit of a shrug, he began serving drinks, telling himself that he would think it over later.

The next day as he walked into his bar, he noticed almost immediately that something was different. Glancing around he didn't see anything that was missing, and neither the electronic security system, nor Willow's wards had been tripped, but he KNEW someone had been in his bar after closing time.

Slowly making his way to the back room, he passed the wall holding the pictures of his friends, when he paused. There, in a tightly coiled ring, placed right under the Ivanhoe, was a black, leather bullwhip. Hanging in the center of the whip was a small ball of herbs, which after all of his time with Willow, he could identify as catnip.

With a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hey Willow. I think I'm gonna need you to do a bit more work on those wards you have set up around Nights. They seem to have had a little hiccup last night."

A/N: This is it, my first ever attempt to write something.

Xander belongs to Joss Whedon, Patience belongs to WB, and Nights belongs to Methos of TtH.

Everyone, please feel free to review, and contact me about adding your own chapter to plot bunny heaven.


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